Notice

Colin Mills, compiler of the Hortus Camdenensis, died in late November 2012 after a short illness. As he always considered the Hortus his legacy, it is his family's intention to keep the site running in perpetuity. It will not, however, be updated in the near future.

Prunus domestica ‘Coe’s Late Red’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Fruit medium sized, round, marked on one side with a deep suture. Skin bright purple, covered with a thin blue bloom. Stalk three quarters of an inch long, not depressed. Flesh yellowish, firm and juicy, with a sweet and sprightly flavour, and separating from the stone. Shoots downy. As a late plum, ripening in the end of October, and hanging for a month or six weeks later, this is a valuable variety.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.233/1860].

Horticultural & Botanical History

‘Saint Martin is an old French variety now hardly worth growing, brought into England by a Mr. Coe who called it Coe's Fine Late Red, a name continued by the London Horticultural Society in its catalog. In the United States, too, it became quite generally known as Coe's Late Red in spite of the efforts of Prince, Downing and Elliott to have it pass under its true name. The variety was mentioned in the American Pornological Society's catalogs from 1867 to 1897.’ [Plums of New York p.336].

History at Camden Park

Listed in all published catalogues as ‘Coe’s late red’ [Plum no.3/1843]. See also ‘St. Martin Quetsche’.

 

Notes

Published May 27, 2010 - 01:37 PM | Last updated Jul 22, 2011 - 10:40 AM

Family Rosaceae
Category
Region of origin

Garden origin, France

Synonyms
  • Saint Martin
  • Red Saint Martin
  • Saint Martin Rouge
  • Violette d’Octobre
  • Catherine Violette

 

Common Name

Dessert Plum, autumn

Name in the Camden Park Record

Coe’s late red  

Confidence level high